After sitting on the market for years, the late oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens’ large Texas ranch has found a buyer.
Mesa Vista Ranch
In 2017, the late oil magnate listed his ranch in the Texas Panhandle, northeast of Amarillo, for $250 million. Five years later, the land was sold – but for $ 60 million less than its listed price.
Pickens, a famous oil prospector, hedge-fund founder, and philanthropist, died on September 11, 2019, at the age of 91. Pickens made his fortune as the founder of the oil and gas company Mesa Petroleum and the hedge BP Capital Management fund.
Pickens’ famous Texas estate, the Mesta Vista Ranch, was first listed for $250 million. But on January 14, 2020, the property received a $30 million price reduction, Mansion Global reported.
In late November, Pickens’ land was finally sold, but at a further reduction in price, Jay Rosser, a longtime representative for Pickens, told Insider. Overall, the land sold within 10% of the asking price of $170 million, Rosser added.
Monte Lyons, the ranch’s broker, told Insider that the sale was made in two transactions. In September, cattle rancher Travis Chester bought about 27,000 acres of land, while convenience store businessman Bill Kent bought the rest of the ranch in November. Lyons declined to disclose how much Chester and Kent paid for each parcel of land.
According to Lyons, the total cost of landscaping and soil compaction for the property was “more than the original list price” of $25 million. During his lifetime, Pickens spent an estimated $140 million to accumulate and restore land for the ranch, according to Forbes.